Gampel

I love being in Gampel and I am so used to it being quiet. So many people see arenas and stadiums when they are full, I feel like I almost only see them when they are empty, especially Gampel.

Gampel is a peaceful place to me, just like Lake Winnipesaukee, Mount Watatic, the Cathedral of the Pines and a whole host of other places. I don't think of it as some crazy place with loud and screaming fans. I think of it as a quiet place that always has a small buzz of the overhead lights in the background. When I am in Gampel I feel like I am home.

Home, by the way, is a strange concept to me. I don't know what to call home. Home could arguable be any of four places...maybe five. It could be Stamford, where I was born and raised and am right now. It's "Home Home" for me. It basically stores a lot of old crap that I will need to go through when my parents retire and move out...which is coming quicker than I think. Then there is Ashburnham which is "Home" and has most of the things that I use on a day to day basis. You could say Storrs is my home because I always feel so happy when I am there. You could say Coventry is my home because I will have an apartment there next year. You could say Sudbury is a temporary home for me because I stay there when I work in the office. Maybe Home is my car. I seem to be spending a lot of time in it. Maybe New Hampshire is home because I love that state and have gone for an 8 mile run just to say I ran to New Hampshire. I hiked a trail just to say I hiked to New Hampshire. I was worried about cycling on a flat tire, but rather than turn around I decided to keep going til I got to New Hampshire before I turned back.

Home is strange, but the fact that I even consider Gampel home to me is interesting I guess. I love that place, and I should because it is really the home to my University and my major. It represents the State of Connecticut in athletics. I don't know what I was born to do yet, but somehow putting Connecticut athletics on the world sports map wouldn't seem to far off. Maybe there is a reason why the buzz of those lights, those empty seats, and tons of banners make me feel like I am home.